Display carton

ABSTRACT

Display carton for articles such as carded merchandise, wherein the cards are supported in vertical parallel relationship in slots formed in opposing resilient panels which hold the cards in position. The display carton may be formed with an angled top surface and a cover to permit the entire carton to be used as a shipping container.

United States Patent Boyle 5] Dec. 23, 1975 DISPLAY CARTON 3,856,137 12/1974 Brindley 206/45.l4 x

[75] Inventor: Daniel J. Boyle, Milwaukee, Wis. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [73] Assignee: Hoerner Waldorf Corporation, St, 1,075,422 7/1967 United Kingdom 206/4514 Paul Minn France [22] Flled: 1974 Primary Examiner-William Price [2]] Appl. No.: 528,268 Assistant Examiner-Steven E. Lipman Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Jerry F. Best [52] US. Cl 206/45.l4; 206/485 [51] Int. Cl. B65D 5/50 [57] ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 206/44 R, 45.14, 45.19, 1

206M485, 491, 526; 229/16 D; 243/146 152 D splay catton for articles such as carded merchandise, wherein the cards are supported 1n vertlcal para]- 450, 459

lel relationship in slots formed In opposing res1l1ent ls which hold the cards in position. The display [56] 7 References Cited pane 1 carton may beformed with an angled top surface and UNITED STATES PATENTS a cover to permit the entire carton to be used as a 3.314.530 4/1967 Michalka 206/44 R shipping container. 3,393,076 7/1968 Moyer et al.. 206/4514 .1 3,669,251 6/1972 Phillips, Jr. 206/44 R 6 C-l'aims, 7 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec.23, 1975 Sheet 1 of3 3,927,761

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet2of3 3,927,761

@N WKN ww WN DISPLAY CARTON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to receptacles which are used as a display device for articles, where the display container has particular means for supporting or positioning the contents of the receptacle in display position. The carton also is one which may be used as a storage container which is convertible to a display container by means forming part of the container when shipped to the dealer.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many consumer items are today packaged in a variety of ways which employ a backing card to which the article is attached by means of shrinkable films or, where the card has an appropriate aperture, the article is suspended in that aperture and surrounded by the card with the use of shrinkable thermo-plastic film. The card allows the manufacturer to put more information relating to the product on the card as well as printing sales promotional material such as art work on the card. Where the articles are packaged on a narrow thin card and the item projects from the plane of the card, it is frequently the case that shipment and storage of these carded items results in wasted space as well as damage to the product. It is desirable to place these types of carded articles in display containers which may further be used for bearing artwork or other indicia and which serve as an attractive display location and which also may be used as a storage container.

Present designs for such containers such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,583 to Kamps and US. Pat. No. 3,669,251 to Phillips, Jr. are not satisfactory for carded items FIG. 5 is a side elevational section view of the carton shown in FIG. 3 taken along section line 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the carton and carded articles shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation sectional view of the carton shown in FIG. 6 taken along section line 7 --7 in FIG. 5, with the carded articles shown in broken outline.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The carton with the carded articles shown in FIG. 1 gives an overall view of how the package would appear when in the display mode. The particular carded artisince the supporting members are only effective at the SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A display carton for articles such as display cards adapted to hold them in an upright parallel relationship having front, rear and side panels with inner side panels hingedly attached to the tops of the side panels and folded down into the carton and provided with substantially vertical slots to retain the cards with a second section on each downwardly folded section foldable inwardly but having spacer tabs attached thereto and which fold outward to space the bottom edge of the downwardly folded panels away from the outer side wall. The carton may also be provided with atop cover which has sides and a front and is removable along the back panel to allow the carton to be used as a shipping container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a display carton with carded articles and embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carton shown in FIG. 1 with a portion of the side wall cut away and without the carded articles;

FIG. 3 shows the carton of FIG. 1 with a cover assembly in place;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a blank adapted to be folded into a carton embodying the present invention;

cles which will be shown generally as 10 include an article of three-dimensional shape 11 which is placed into an aperture on a flat card 12 and heldin place on the card 12 by means of shrinkwrap or similar means. As can be seen the carded articles do not lend themselves to stacking and therefore conventional shipping containers are not satisfactory-for shipping and storing this type of article, since they would require unusual partitioning or packing materials. Also it can be seen that these items are best displayed in an upright position. Y

The container is shown generally in the various figures as 13 and is erected from a blank such as shown in FIG. 4. It should be understood that the blank shown in FIG. 4 includes the appropriate sections which may be folded to make up a top cover which will be described later, however those partsof the blank are included which are used to make up the basic carton 13. The blank includes a rectangular panel 14 which is adapted to become the bottom panel of the carton which has at its bottom edge a fold line 15 to which is attached a panel 16 which is further attached by a hinge line 17 to the front panel 18. As can be seen in the drawings the front panel 18 is reinforced by the panel 16 which is folded down into back-to-back relationship with the front panel 18. The front panel 18 is further defined by fold line 19 which extends horizontally across the entire length of the blank as a co-linear bottom edge for the front, back and side panels. The bottom panel 14 has side edges 20 and 21 which are interrupted at the top ends by connecting nicks which will be described later. I

In the particular embodiment shown, the side panels are angled downwardly and the rear panel is higher than the front panel. Consequently it may be seen that the lateral edges of the front panel 18 include vertical fold lines 22 and 23 which serve to hingedly attach the four-sided side panels 24 and 25 respectively whose top edges 26 and 27 slope toward the front panel 18. In the embodiment shown the rear panel 28 is shown attached to the side panel 25 by hinge line 29 and on the opposite side panel 24 there is attached by a hinge line 30 to a manufacturers glue flap 31 which permits the rear, side and front panels to be attached into a tube-like configuration as seen in the figures. Each of the side panels 24 and 25 have connected thereto along the top edges 26 and 27 side panel liner sections 32 and 33 which extend downwardly into the carton and in the case of the blank comprise a triangular shaped piece in the area defined by the side edges of the bottom panel 14 and which are numbered 20 and 21 and the top edges of the side panels which are 26 and 27. These side panel liner sections 32 and 33 each have a bottom edge which in the blank is represented by the scored hinge lines 34 and 35 respectively which in the finished form lie juxtaposed against the bottom panel 14 as can be seen in FIG. 2.

'Hingedly connected to the side panel liner sections 32 and 33 are triangular bottom sections 36 and 37 which fill in the space between the fold lines 34 and 35 at the edges 20 and 21 of the bottom panel 14. The second or triangular bottom sections are connected to the bottom panel 14 by small nicks shown generally as 38 which are broken for final assembly but which hold these long cuts together during the initial gluing and preliminary folding steps. The important feature of the triangular sections 37 are the outwardly facing spacer tabs which are designated 39 on the triangular section 36 and as 40 on the triangular section 37. These spacer tabs 39 are cut into the area generally defined by the side panel liner sections 32 and 33 but it can be seen that when the assembly is completed an the side panel liner sections 36 and 37 are folded inwardly to lie in flush relationship with the bottom of the carton 14 the spacer tabs 39 extend outwardly to position the surface of the triangular sections 32 and 33 a predetermined distance away from the outer walls 24 and 25. This insures that the cards 10, when fitted into the appropriate vertical slots which are shown as 41 in the side panel liner section 32 and as 42 in the side panel liner section 33 will provide a recess for the cards and the resiliency of the liner sections 32 and 33 will serve to hold the cards 10 in position. If these spacer tabs 39 and 40 were not present the triangular sections 32 and 33 would simply be pushed out against the inside surface of the outer side panels 24 and 25 and there would be nothing to restrain the cards 10. The exact configuration of the flaps which form the bottom closure for the carton 13 may be of any of the standard types known in the art, and the one which is illustrated in FIG. 4 includes four closure flaps 56, 43, 44 and 45 attached to the side front and rear panels along the bottom edge hinge line 19 and which fold together to form the well known I-Iimes bottom structure, similar to that shown in US. Pat. No. 2,327,709.

As previously mentioned, the top cover is removable, and it is illustrated in FIG. 4 as being attached to the top of the rear panel 28 along a perforated line 46 which may be broken for removal of the top closure. The closure includes a rectangular top cover panel 47 hingedly attached to the top edge of the rear panel 28 and formed in size substantially equal to the bottom panel 14 with a front cover panel 48 hingedly attached to the top edge thereof along a hinge line 49. The sides of the top cover panel 47 are defined by hinge lines 50 and 51 and side cover sections 52 and 53 are hingedly attached thereto which are formed in shape sufficient to extend downwardly in the final folded position and tuck between the liner sections 32 and 33 and the sides of the articles 10 in the carton l3. Attached to the top edge of the front cover panel 48, which when folded is against the bottom edge of the front panel 18, is a tuck-in tab 54 which is insertable into a transverse slot 55 formed in the center of the two hinge lines and 19 at the lower edge of the front panel 18.

FIG. 2 shows a portion of the carton cut away in perspective view to illustrate how the liner section 33 is folded down and inwardly about the hinge line 27 and illustrates how the second or triangular section 37 folds inwardly to lie in overlapping relationship with the bottom liner panel 14 and also illustrates how the spacer tabs 40 which are attached thereto fold outwardly, since they are formed from a line cut extending 4 into the first section 33, and serve to position the liner section 33 away from the outer side panel 25.

The exact configuration of the side cover sections 52 and 53 is variable depending on the particular application. As can be seen in FIG. 5 the side cover section 52 has a front extended portion 52a which is long enough that it rests against the inside bottom portion of a carton in final folded position, and yet has depending rear portion which is cut up and away to prevent interference between the packages 12 positioned in the slots 42, and yet is designed with enough downwardly extending lengths so that it extends completely below the angled top edge 27 of the side panel 25.

It should be understood that in the blank shown in FIG. 4 the design of the triangular sections 36 and 37 is utilitarian for purposes of the blank and preliminary folding steps only. The side edges of the bottom liner panel 20 and 21 are cut almost to their upper ends where the nicks 38 join the bottom liner panel 14 with the second sections 36 and 37. The particular triangular shape of the triangular sections 36 and 37 is simply the geometric resultant of the necessary angles for the top edge 26 and 27 and opposed edges 34 and 35 which are required to obtain a side panel and inner lining on each side terminating against the bottom liner panel 14. The required geometric shape to fill in the gap between the hinge lines 34, 35 and the side edges of the bottom liner panel 14 dictate the shape of the triangular sections 36 and 37.

In accordance with the Patent Statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my improvement in DISPLAY CARTON; and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A display carton made from foldable paperboard or similar sheet-like material and adapted for holding a plurality of thin rigid articles such as display cards in an upright position, said carton comprising:

parallel front and back panels;

pai'a llel side panels connecting said front and back panels to form a tube-like arrangement;

a bottom panel structure connecting said panels and forming a base therefor;

a "pair of liner sections connected to the top edges of said side panels and extending downwardly into jsaid carton, said liner sections having a bottom edge juxtaposed with said bottom panel;

"said: liner sections having vertical slots formed tl ijerein extending to the bottom edges thereof, said slots adapted to retain said rigid articles in parallel, spaced relation;

a section hingedly attached along said bottom edge of each of said liner sections and folded inwardly to lie in flush relationship with said bottom panel;

said hingedly attached sections having outwardly facing spacer tabs connected thereto extending between said bottom edges of said liner sections and said side panels;

a front liner panel formed in size substantially equal to said front panel and hingedly attached to the top edge of said front panel and folded inwardly and downwardly into contact with said front panel; and

a bottom liner hingedly connected to said front liner panel opposite said front panel and positioned in 6 panel having an angled top edge defined by a fold line;

a second side panel formed in size and shape equal to said first side panel, and attached to the opposite lateral edge of said front panel from said first side panel, said second side panel having a bottom edge defined by a co-linear extension of said bottom edge of said front panel and said first side panel, said second side panel having an opposed lateral overlapping relationship with said bottom panel structure to serve as a liner therefor.

2. The carton of claim 1, wherein said'front panel is formed shorter than said back panel and said side panels having angled top edges from back to front.

3. A display carton made from foldable paperboard or similar sheet-like material and'adapted for holding a plurality of thin rigid articles such as display cards in an upright position, said carton comprising: 0

parallel front and back panels;

parallel side panels connecting said front and back panels to form a tube-like arrangement;

a bottom panel structure connecting said panels and forming a base therefor;

a pair of liner sections connected to the top edges of said side panels and extending downwardly into said carton, said liner sections having a bottom edge juxtaposed with said bottom panel;

said liner sections having vertical slots formed therein extending to the bottom edges thereof, said slots adapted to retain said rigid articles in parallei, spaced relation;

a section hingedly attached along said bottom edge of each of said liner sections and folded inwardly to lie in flush relationship with said bottom panel;

said hingedly attached sections having outwardly facing spacer tabs connected thereto extending between said bottom edges of said liner sections and said side panels;

a removable rectangular top cover panel hingedly attached along the top edge of said back panel, said top cover panel formed in size substantially equal to said bottom panel and positioned parallel thereto;

a front cover panel hingedly attached to the front edge of said top cover panel and extending downwardly over said front panel to said bottom panel;

said front panel having a transverse slot formed at the lower edge thereof;

a tuck-in tab attached to the lower edge of said front edge greater than said front panel and equal to said first opposed lateral edge of said first side panel; rear panel substantially rectangular in shape and hingedly connected to said first opposed lateral edge of said first side panel, said rear panel formed in height a distance equal to said first opposed lateral edge of said first side panel and in width subtstantially equal to said front panel, said rear panel having a bottom edge defined by a co-linear extension of said bottom edge of said front panel, and also having a top edge; bottom closure flaps hingedly attached to said front, rear, and side panels, said closure flaps adapted to be folded to form a bottom closure structure of said carton;

substantially rectangular bottom structure liner panel hingedly attached to said front liner panel along a hinge line parallel to said top edge of said front panel and extending vertically a distance substantially equal to the width of said first side panels, said bottom liner panel adapted to be folded down and inwardly to cover said bottom closure structure flaps;

a pair of first sections, each hingedly attached along the top edge of each of said side panels, said first sections each being generally triangular in shape and foldable down and inwardly into said carton, each of said first sections having an opposed edge defined by a fold line opposite said top edge of said respective side panels, said opposed edge adapted to lie in juxtaposition with said bottom liner panel in the final folded position of said carton, said first sections having slots formed therein adapted to be capable of holding display cards in an upright position;

and second sections hingedly attached to said first sections along said opposed edge in said first sections, said second sections having spacer tabs extending beyond said hinge line into said first sections such that in the final folded position said spacer tabs lie between said first sections and the bottom edge of said side panels, said second sections being folded into parallel relationship with said bottom liner panel.

formed shorter than said back panel and said side panels having angled top edges from back to front.

5. A carton blank made from foldable paperboard or similar sheet-like material and adapted to be erected into a display carton for holding a plurality of thin rigid articles such as display cards in an upright position, said blank comprising:

a rectangular front panel having opposed pairs of vertical and horizontal fold lines defining the top, bottom, and side edges of said front panel;

a front liner panel formed in size substantially equal to said front panel and hingedly connected along said top edge of said front panel;

a first side panel hingedly connected to a first side edge of said front panel, said side panel having a bottom edge defined by a hinge line co-linear with said bottom edge of said front panel, said first side panel also having a first lateral edge opposed to said front panel adapted to be folded to be at the rear of said carton, said opposed first lateral edge formed with a greater vertical height than said front panel, with the top edge of said first side 6. The carton blank of claim 5, including a top cover comprising:

a substantially rectangular top cover panel hingedly attached along the top edge of said back panel, said top cover panel formed in size substantially equal to said bottom liner panel;

a front cover panel hingedly attached to the top edge of said top cover panel and adapted to be folded downwardly over said front panel to enclose said carton, said front cover panel formed in size substantially equal to said rear panel;

said front cover panel having a tuck-in tab hingedly attached to the top edge thereof;

said front panel having a transverse slot formed in the bottom edge thereof adapted to receive said tuck- 7 in tab; folded position and tucked between said first seca pair of side cover sections hingedly attached along tions and the sides of said articles when in position the lateral sides of said top cover panel formed in in said carton. size and adapted to extend downwardly in the final 

1. A display carton made from foldable paperboard or similar sheet-like material and adapted for holding a plurality of thin rigid articles such as display cards in an upright position, said carton comprising: parallel front and back panels; parallel side panels connecting said front and back panels to form a tube-like arrangement; a bottom panel structure connecting said panels and forming a base therefor; a pair of liner sections connected to the top edges of said side panels and extending downwardly into said carton, said liner sections having a bottom edge juxtaposed with said bottom panel; said liner sections having vertical slots formed therein extending to the bottom edges thereof, said slots adapted to retain said rigid articles in parallel, spaced relation; a section hingedly attached along said bottom edge of each of said liner sections and folded inwardly to lie in flush relationship with said bottom panel; said hingedly attached sections having outwardly facing spacer tabs connected thereto extending between said bottom edges of said liner sections and said side panels; a front liner panel formed in size substantially equal to said front panel and hingedly attached to the top edge of said front panel and folded inwardly and downwardly into contact with said front panel; and a bottom liner hingedly connected to said front liner panel opposite said front panel and positioned in overlapping relationship with said bottom panel structure to serve as a liner therefor.
 2. The carton of claim 1, wherein said front panel is formed shorter than said back panel and said side panels having angled top edges from back to front.
 3. A display carton made from foldable paperboard or similar sheet-like material and adapted for holding a plurality of thin rigid articles such as display cards in an upright position, said carton comprising: parallel front and back panels; parallel side panels connecting said front and back panels to form a tube-like arrangement; a bottom panel structure connecting said panels and forming a base therefor; a pair of liner sections connected to the top edges of said side panels and extending downwardly into said carton, said liner sections having a bottom edge juxtaposed with said bottom panel; said liner sections having vertical slots formed therein extending to the bottom edges thereof, said slots adapted to retain said rigid articles in parallel, spaced relation; a section hingedly attached along said bottom edge of each of said liner sections and folded inwardly to lie in flush relationship with said bottom panel; said hingedly attached sections having outwardly facing spacer tabs connected thereto extending between said bottom edges of said liner sections and said side panels; a removable rectangular top cover panel hingedly attached along the top edge of said back panel, said top cover panel formed in size substantially equal to said bottom panel and positioned parallel thereto; a front cover panel hingedly attached to the front edge of said top cover panel and extending downwardly over said front panel to said bottom panel; said front panel having a transverse slot formed at the lower edge thereof; a tuck-in tab attached to the lower edge of said front cover panel insertable into said transverse slot; and side cover sections hingedly attached to the sides of said top cover panel which extend downwardly and tuck between said liner sections and the sides of said articles in said carton.
 4. The carton of claim 3, wherein said front panel is formed shorter than said back panel and said side panels having angled top edges from back to front.
 5. A carton blank made from foldable paperboard or similar sheet-like material and adapted to be erected into a display carton for holding a plurality of thin rigid articles such as display cards in an upright position, said blank comprising: a rectangular front panel having opposed pairs of vertical and horizontal fold lines defining the top, bottom, and side edges of said front panel; a front liner panel formed in size substantially equal to said front panel and hingedly connected along said top edge of said front panel; a first side panel hingedly connected to a first side edge of said front panel, said side panel having a bottom edge defined by a hinge line co-linear with said bottom edge of said front panel, said first side panel also having a first lateral edge opposed to said front panel adapted to be folded to be at the rear of said carton, said opposed first lateral edge formed with a greater vertical height than said front panel, with the top edge of said first side panel having an angled top edge defined by a fold line; a second side panel formed in size and shape equal to said first side panel, and attached to the opposite lateral edge of said front panel from said first side panel, said second side panel having a bottom edge defined by a co-linear extension of said bottom edge of said front panel and said first side panel, said second side panel having an opposed lateral edge greater than said front panel and equal to said first opposed lateral edge of said first side panel; a rear panel substantially rectangular in shape and hingedly connected to said first opposed lateral edge of said first side panel, said rear panel formed in height a distance equal to said first opposed lateral edge of said first side panel and in width subtstantially equal to said front panel, said rear panel having a bottom edge defined by a co-linear extension of said bottom edge of said front panel, and also having a top edge; bottom closure flaps hingedly attached to said front, rear, and side panels, said closure flaps adapted to be folded to form a bottom closure structure of said carton; a substantially rectangular bottom structure liner panel hingedly attached to said front liner panel along a hinge line parallel to said top edge of said front panel and extending vertically a distance substantially equal to the width of said first side panels, said bottom liner panel adapted to be folded down and inwardly to cover said bottom closure structure flaps; a pair of first sections, each hingedly attached along the top edge of each of said side panels, said first sections each being generally triangular in shape and foldable down and inwardly into said carton, each of said first sections having an opposed edge defined by a fold line opposite said top edge of said respective side panels, said opposed edge adapted to lie in juxtaposition with said bottom liner panel in the final folded position of said carton, said first sections having slots formed therein adapted to be capable of holding display cards in an upright position; and second sections hingedly attached to said first sections along said opposed edge in said first sections, said second sections haviNg spacer tabs extending beyond said hinge line into said first sections such that in the final folded position said spacer tabs lie between said first sections and the bottom edge of said side panels, said second sections being folded into parallel relationship with said bottom liner panel.
 6. The carton blank of claim 5, including a top cover comprising: a substantially rectangular top cover panel hingedly attached along the top edge of said back panel, said top cover panel formed in size substantially equal to said bottom liner panel; a front cover panel hingedly attached to the top edge of said top cover panel and adapted to be folded downwardly over said front panel to enclose said carton, said front cover panel formed in size substantially equal to said rear panel; said front cover panel having a tuck-in tab hingedly attached to the top edge thereof; said front panel having a transverse slot formed in the bottom edge thereof adapted to receive said tuck-in tab; a pair of side cover sections hingedly attached along the lateral sides of said top cover panel formed in size and adapted to extend downwardly in the final folded position and tucked between said first sections and the sides of said articles when in position in said carton. 